The Demiurge
The Demiurge, formerly known as the Shadow Covenant is a shadowy cabal of powerful and influential people in ex-Covenant space, using their links, spy network and financial powers to see their dream come true. Their dream is of uniting the former Covenant races into a single power bloc, and then expanding their influence through conquest and subjugation. What has made the Demiurge a threat to galactic peace is the strength of their intelligence network, expanding far and wide, amongst the Sangheili, Jiralhanae, Kig-Yar and even Humanity. Both the Republic and the UNSC consider the Demiurge a threat on a par with the Covenant Remnant, but lack the resources or the intelligence to effectively attack them, their agents or their strong holds. This has allowed them to steadily expand their power base, encroaching on both Republic and UEG territory. History Founding As with any institution, there has already been a seedy underbelly, a dark mirror to the Covenant. Those that seek power over others, not through overt rule, but through covert manipulation. A cabal of industrialists, Traders, Kaidons, Councillors and Ministers banded together, pooling their resources and wealth to exert control over the Covenant. They brought Ministries under their control, they rigged the markets, and they exerted control, all from behind the scenes, all without revealing themselves. Over the centuries, they grew larger, and more influential, sometimes controlling one of the Hierarchs to enact their will. After centuries of scheming, planning, and plotting, they finally got their chance, during the rise of the Prophets of of Obligation, Tolerance, and Restraint, each of whom was in their pocket. This afforded them massive power, allowing them to exert control over the Covenant. However, the sudden and almost inexplicable rise of of Truth, Regret, and Mercy put an end to their control. While their control was lessened, their influence was not. Independence Member Races *Sangheili: *Jiralhanae: *Kig-Yar *Human *Unggoy *Huragok Structure A unflinching dictatorship, the Demiurge is lead by a cabal of thirteen individuals, who control the entire organisation through delegation and direct command. These thirteen, referred to as Tribunes, take great care to mask their personalities, since they still have significant investment inside Republic or Alliance territory. Each Tribune is equal in position, and are appointed to cover a area of the Demiurge's governance, while a final one, the Archon, directs the Demiurge as a whole. During internal discussions, the Tribunes vote on their next course of action, with majority vote ruling, though the Archon can veto. Similarly, the Tribunes can vote to remove each other, or the Archon, by majority, or bring in a new Tribune. Each Tribune delegates tasks of his department to underlings, usually appointed Viziers. Each Tribune controls an important apparatus of the Demiurge, varying from the overt to the covert, and help stabilise, control and expand the Demiurge. Each Department rules a important part of the Demiurge, to ensure maximum control over the daily lives of their people. *Department of Conflict: The most straight forward Department, the DoC controls the military arm of the Demiurge. Originally a liaison with mercenary forces, the DoC is now responsible for the deployment, funding, training and procurement of the Demiurge's substantial military. *Department of the Interior: The DoI is in charge of affairs of state, including health care, civil affairs, justice system, internal affairs and local governance. A huge catch all, the DoI often fills the small blind spots of other departments. *Department of Security: The DoS is responsible for homeland security, including but not limited to, analysing foreign threats, tracking these threats, and intercepting threats by other governments and states. The DoS is also responsible for security of the Tribunes, both inside and outside Demiurge territory. *Department of Internal Security: The DoIS is the public face of the Demiurge's secret police apparatus. The Secret Police perform surveillance on the people under the Demiurge's control, ensuring order, and making sure dissidents are removed. Universally feared, the IS forces have significant resources for population surveillance and dissident suppression. *Department of the Exchequer: This department controls the economy of the Demiurge, managing both their internal economy, and their secretive business affairs outside of their own territory. The DotE controls and regulates internal commerce, and directly funds the other departments, making it a powerful and influential position. *Department of Intelligence: The Department of Intelligence is responsible for gathering intelligence on foreign threats. This Departmental agency works to gather intelligence on their enemies, and even their allies, and focuses on infiltration and spying. *Department of Counter Intelligence: While the department of intelligence is responsible for gathering intelligence of the Demiurge's enemies, the department of counter intelligence is responsible for protecting the Demiruge from the intelligence forces of their enemies, operating a clandestine war to not only mask the Demiruge's activities, but to actively sabotage the enemy's attempt to gather intelligence on the Demiurge. *Department of Foreign Intelligence: The closest the Demiurge have to a foreign affairs department, the FI department gather intelligence on both their enemies and their allies, and collates this. This information is then used to dictate foreign policy. This department also handles the distribution of envoys and ambassadors. *Department of Enforced Labour: This department ensures all of the Demiurge's needs are met, in terms of labour. Having the controlling stake in the Demiurge's slave labour market, this department allocates slaves to Demiurge ran industries. Because of this, they have significant political clout. *Department of Intervention: One of the more influential Departments, the DoS controls a large network of agents, saboteurs and assassins who are charged with actively attacking the infrastructure of their enemies in clandestine attacks. Their agents are usually ruthless and well trained, and conduct attacks far from home. *Department of Artefacts: A small department, they are devoted to the acquisition of Forerunner technology, to both expedite their own research and deny this resource to other factions. This department not only tracks down and covers Forerunner artefacts, but also purchases them from the black market, and steals them from other groups. *Department of Education: Better known as the 'Department of Reducation', this department controls education within their territory, attempting to control the population through propaganda and controlled education. They also conduct propaganda missions outside of Demiurge territory. While originally the Demiurge relied significantly on mercenaries and proxies, advances in their economy and strength have allowed them to build a formidable force. Unlike many other fledgling empires, the Demiurge rely upon superior training, tactics and equipment. The Demiurge military can be divided into two groups. The Army, and the Intelligence services. The Army relies on rigid discipline, and flexible doctrine, along with advanced technology. The military is lead by the Tribune who commands the Department of Conflict, who in turn delegates to the Primes, five officers who command their entire military presence. These in turn delegate to the Diadochi, who are functional equivalents of generals, or admirals. Beneath them are the Centurions, who's rank can vary from Ultra to Minor, which represent ranks from colonel to lieutenant. The basic rank of every soldier in the Demiurge is Legionnaire, but they can ascend to Majors or Ultras. A basic infantry formation of a squad of Demiurge troopers is referred to as a Lance, the same as the old Covenant. It is lead by a Centurion Minor, and features five Files, each with four Legionnaires and a Major Legionary. Each file is divided into the 'assault formation' and the 'fire formation'. The assault formation has four legionnaires equipped with exoskeletons and a heavy shield, who advanced under fire to secure enemy ground. The fire formation consists of three lances, two equipped with long rifles, and the last armed with heavy weapons for long ranged bombardment. To this end, these units have the flexibility to storm enemy positions, and lay down suppressive fire. Four Lances are gathered into a Formation, and six Formations make a single Legion. While these Legions are smaller than their Covenant equivalent, they rely more on mobility and organic assets. These legions have their own air support and armoured units. All legions are a mix between Sangheili and Jiralhanae, with no difference given to race when it comes to rank or role. The Demiurge also maintain Auxila units, recruited from Unggoy, Humans and Kig-Yar. These units, assembled into Formations themselves, often follow similar patterns in units. They are equipped to serve as scouts, instead of frontline officers, and are often on the flanks of the main advance. Legions usually differ on role are experience, as some are specially equipped for certain conditions, or specifically recruited from veteran Legionaries to create elite shock formations. The opposite army to the Demiurge Army, is the Intelligence Services, and their Operants. Operant covers a wide range of different specialists, most of whom are cross trained, and regularly move from service to service. Most are recruited conventionally, usually culled from the best the Legions have to offer, while others are 'conscripted'. These conscripts are usually put through torturous indoctrination, using psycho-conditioning to bend them to the Demiurge's will. Each Operant is trained in a specific area, relevant to their branch's requirement, such as espionage, counter-espionage, sabotage, assassination and other covert actions. They are also conditioned for torture resistance, and fitted with a substantial amount of cybernetics and augmentations, to make them much more lethal in the field. Operants, once cleared for duty, are given a code name, and usually use elaborately constructed cover identities, then deployed for maximum effect. Most are equipped individually, and no two ever have the same equipment in the field. Culture Born in the power vacuum left by the fall of the Covenant, the Demiurge have risen to power through manipulation and subversion, and this rules much of their culture. On the world's under their control, they are ran as strict police states, where both the security services and secret police work to keep the population in line and subservient to the Demiurge. The Demiurge's political structure is culled from the elite of the business, political and military world. The Demiurge is ran solely for the profit of those in power, making the rich richer, the poor poorer and the Demiurge ever stronger. Most of the Demiurge's subjects can be divided into one of three categories. There's those in power, often powerful and influential, who live lavish lives of privileged, then the people, the working class, indoctrinated into a political party that extols the virtues of hard work and subservience to them. Beneath them all are the indentured workers, slaves who toil for the Demiurge with no hope for respite. While party members live in high rise buildings, and fine manors, the workers live in slums, little better than warrens. The indentured workers live in fortified camps, designed to keep them in. These camps are guarded day and night, and are functionally prisons. The Demiurge rarely placed much in terms of finances into public provisions, such as hospitals and welfare, instead using this budget to finance schools for the re-education of their citizens, to ensure future generations are loyal to the Demiurge ideals. Using propaganda and surveillance, the ensure the people remain under their thumb. It isn't unknown for the security forces to perform raids, or for the secret police to remove a person, and make them disappear. Most find their way into the ranks of the indentured workers. While the party members themselves are not restricted, the Demiurge exert control over their subjects in an attempt to quash individualism and expression. They do this by controlling clothing, instead restricting it to government issue jumpsuits, in various dull colours. Indentured servants black coloured jumpsuits, with a slave collar built into suit. Equipment Warships *Spite-class Frigate: The mainstay of the Demiurge fleet, the Spite-class is a derivative of the SDV-class Heavy Corvette. Based on the frame, with the same weapons and launch facilities, the Spite-class has seen significant upgrades. It has heavier armour, and new reactors, powering more powerful engines. Instead of the wing-like hull extension, it has two solid superstructures on the lower port and starboard, that house launch bays for their assault pods, and additional flak weapons. *Reckoning-class Cruiser: A conversion of the CCS-class Battlecruiser, the Reckoning-class differs little in terms of capabilities. Its only change is the addition of modular bays, that can be outfitted with specific equipment, such as long distance sensors, additional communication and control systems, and electronic warfare systems, to name a few. This allows them to be tuned to specific roles, such as command, patrol or support. *Wrath-class Carrier: A conversion of the CAS-class Assault Carrier, the Wrath-class has removed several ship-to-ship batteries, and instead replaced them with longer ranged, heavier plasma cannons. While they have a reduced rate of fire, their accuracy and range are increased, making them deadly at ship-to-ship combat, or at orbital bombardment. *Keep-class Landing Vessel: A vessel designed on seized Forerunner specifications, the Keep-class are two kilometres long vessels, featuring little in terms of ordnance, but make up for it with an abundance of armour and shielding. Accelerating through enemy defences, they immediately make landfall, functioning as a colossal drop pod. Once they've landed, they deploy weapons for self defence and long range bombardment, and can deploy thousands of troops. Rarely used, these vessels are the ultimate weapon for besieging a planet. Air and space craft *Phantom-class Dropship: A near carbon-copy of the Covenant Phantom, the Demiurge Phantom is fitted with an array of sophisticated cloaking technology to obscure it during operations. *Haunter-class Fighter: An all purpose fighter-bomber, the Haunter is based upon fragmentary data seized from the Republic, and their advanced Tengu-class fighter. While it lacks the agility of the Tengu, it matches it in straight line speed and firepower. *Stalker-class Gunship: A home development, the Stalker-class is a whip-thin combat vehicle, using a nose mounted plasma cannon and several batteries of fuel rod cannons and plasma lance cannons. Crewed by two, it relies on speed, stealth and shielding, but lacks the defensive capabilities of other gunships. Vehicles *Monolith-class Tank: A heavily modified Wraith, the Monolith-class uses the basic frame, and reactor, and fits new, sloping armour, and a rear mounted turret carrying a large plasma cannon, capable of traversing 360°. Fitted with a remote plasma turret for defence, it lacks the bombardment capability of the original Wraith, but makes up for it with improved flexibility. *Rider-class Transport: The standard troop carrier of the Demiurge, the Rider-class is low and flat, and can carry twelve troops in (relative) comfort. It is fitted with a heavy plasma turret for warding off enemy vehicles and infantry. *Ghost-class Scout: The Ghosts of the Demiurge undergo little in terms of modification, except for a coating of anti-sensor material, to reduce the ability to detect them in the field. Used for scouting, escort and rapid attack, they are favoured for their agility and resilience. *Predator-class Scout: A derivative of the Revenant, it's chassis has been stretched to fit two extra passenger seats in the back, at the cost the the mortar. Instead it has a plasma cannon between the rear passengers, controlled by the front passenger. *Dominator-class Combat Walker: Based on stolen specs for the UNSC Mantis, the Dominator is the Demiurge's most deadly urban weapon. Nimble, and protected by powerful energy shields, it uses a pulse laser with supreme accuracy, allowing it to knock out armour at a distance. *Desolation-class Heavy Combat Vehicle: With no access to Lekgolo worms, the Demiurge have no means of replicating the technology behind the Scarab. Instead, they opted for another route. They created the Desolation-class. A massive vehicle, plated in heavy armour, and kept a few feet off the ground by armoured anti-gravity drives, it is used for assaults against enemy strong points. It has several batteries of heavy plasma cannons, designed for bombarding targets, and laying waste to armour and fortifications. They also have several anti-air turrets for protection. *Fury-class Heavy Command Vehicle: Designed to command Demiurge ground forces far from home, the Fury is a self-sufficient command vehicle, capable of commanding friendly forces, and repairing damaged armoured units. It only possesses close-range defence turrets for defence. *Ravager-class Heavy Artillery Vehicle: A rolling artillery vehicle, it possesses a battery of plasma mortars. Essentially an entire artillery battery unto itself, it can fire off massive volleys of fire, raining down fire on enemy positions. Armaments *Plasma Rifle: The standard weapon of the Demiurge's Legionaries, the weapon is tough, reliable and deadly. Used by shock infantry, and those carrying protective shields, the plasma rifle is mass produced at a scale large enough to keep the Demiurge well armed. *Carbine: Used By Legionary marksmen and Auxila scouts, the Carbine is robust and deadly, and is fitted with a short ranged sight to enhance its accuracy. *Charger Rifle: An attempt to reverse engineer the Republic's Storm Rifle, the Charger Rifle uses an enhanced thermal shroud, and adjusted barrel, with a fire control system. Instead of being a fully automatic weapon, it is instead a burst fire, with more stability and a higher accuracy, but lacks the punishing rate of fire of the Storm Rifle. *Beam Rifle: Similar to the Covenant's beam weaponry, the Beam Rifle is a long ranged, high-accuracy sniper weapon, designed to purge enemy infantry. Often wielded by scouts, it is often used to terrorise foes. *Concussion Rifle: Used by officers and veterans, the Concussion rifle fires low velocity plasma blasts, designed to shatter infantry formations and flush the enemy from cover. *Cyclic Cannon: Functionally 3 plasma cannons strapped together, it is far too heavy to be used normally. Faster firing than a plasma cannon, it also takes longer to overheat. Its used by heavy weapon specialists, who use unique exoskeletons with it. *Plasma Lance: A modified version of the plasma launcher used by the Covenant and Republic, the Plasma Lance, instead of firing three tracking shots, instead fires a single, heavier plasma munition, tracking with supreme accuracy and speed. Capable of both anti-aircraft fire and anti-armour attacks, its accurate and deadly. *Fuel Rod Cannon: A robust artillery weapon, the fuel rod cannon rapidly fires compressed plasma munitions, capable of flattening buildings and armoured vehicles. While inaccurate, its fast firing and powerful. *Plasma Pistol: A simple side arm, the plasma pistol can switch between a single shot, or a charged blast, with EMP fallout. Used by infantry of all classes, it serves as a hardy backup. *Plasma Grenade: Copied verbatim from the Covenant's plasma grenade pattern, it uses electrostatic binding to adhere to a target and detonate. Personal Equipment *Legionary Harness: Used by both Jiralhanae and Sangheili Legionaries, the Legionary Harness is tough, responsive and all purpose. Possessing energy shielding and tough armour, it also has lots of creature comforts such as environmental controls and a sealed helmet with oxygen supplies. The helmet includes night vision and a heads up display, while the armour itself carries a radio containing a datalink and IFF transmitter. Tough and all purpose, it matches the armour of the old Covenant in strength, and exceeds it in features and capabilities. *Warden Harness: Used by the shield carrying shocktroops of the Demiurge, it features a rudimentary exoskeleton, using enhanced battery packs to power hydraulics that support the legs and hold up the body. This exoskeleton extends to the left arm, carrying the shield. While crude and slow, the exoskeleton allows the Wardens to carry mighty combat shields. Their helmets are fitted with extra sensory equipment so they can see through the sensors on their shield. *Colossus Harness: An all body exoskeleton, its used by heavy weapon specialists so they can carry weapons unhindered, and provide a stable base of fire. Slow and purposeful, and very well armoured, they are used to press the assault. *Izebian Harness: A special operations armour, the Izebian Harness takes all the specs of the Legionary Harness and improves it with superior armour and shielding, a sensor-resistant coating, and a active camouflage system. Issued to veteran warriors in elite battalions, and to Operants, the Izebian Harness matches its namesake, a stealth beast from Sangheili folklore. *Auxila Harness: Used by conscripted Auxila forces, the harness is lightweight, and unobtrusive. While it has many of the features of the standard harness, it lacks the heavy armour and shielding. *Warden Shield: Used by shocktroopers, the heavy duty Warden shield is a slab of ceramic armour, capable of warding off most infantry weapons. Studded with microsensors, it doesn't affect the user's ability to see, and using their exoskeleton it can be hefted with ease, and even used as a close combat weapon. Drones *Spy-class Scout Drone: A small, light-weight drone, it can quickly zip through the air on silent anti-gravity motors. While it's range is limited, its gives Demiurge warriors a deadly edge in urban conflict. *Enforcer-class Heavy Drone: A heavy-duty combat drone, it is designed and armoured like a tank, but is small enough to venture through built up urban areas, going anywhere infantry can. Fitted with a Cyclic plasma cannon, it can escort soldiers, perform pacification operations, and even be used as mobile cover. *Observer-class Recon Drone: The ultimate edge in ground conflict, it is a high-altitude stealth drone, that uses sensors to track enemy ground units, and constantly feed information back to it's masters. It is almost impossible to spot from the ground or air, and the only real indication its there is the fact that Demiurge troops suddenly become a lot more coordinated. *Purgation-class Hunter Killer Drone: The most sophisticated and deadly drone they use, it is designed as a urban combat drone, let loose to hunt down infantry and terminate them, or exterminate rebels. Fast, and with advance sensors, it can track, and then exterminate it's prey with inbuilt energy swords. Holdings Ardjur is the Demiurge's capital, and centre of their power Industrial World *enforced labour Notable Individuals